J. Farris Banjo

Hartford, CT. "Diamond" model. Length: 90cm.

John Farris built his business in Hartford, CT, during the latter half of the 19th Century. Referring to his banjos in writing as "banjays," he patented a new instrument in April 1885 as #US315135. He cited his new instrument as "a stringed instrument having some points of similarity to the banjo, and some other points of similarity to the mandolin, and some other points entirely new and widely differing as a whole from every prior instrument known to me." it would appear he was the first to use the term "Banjolin" for a banjo-mandolin. In his 5 stringed instruments he utilised a slotted peg head and guitar style open geared 5th string tuner.

The Meisel Collection. This instrument is being sold from The Meisel Collection assembled over a period of forty years by an accomplished attorney from Princeton, New Jersey. The owner traveled the world in search of rare, interesting, and handsome instruments to fill a collection that until now was displayed in his beautiful Princeton home.

Please note: The items in the Meisel Collection are being sold F.O.B. Princeton, New Jersey. The recommended shipper is the U.P.S. Store, 174 Nassau St., Princeton, NJ 08542 which has extensive experience shipping fragile auction items. The Store can be emailed at store2026@theupsstore.com or called at 609-924-0759. The auction house makes no commission on shipping; payment for shipping is made by the buyer directly to the shipper. Although buyers are free to use any shipper they choose, we have found this shipper to be fair and reliable.

Condition: More detailed condition reports and additional photographs are available by request. The absence of a condition report does not imply that the lot is in very fine condition. Please message us through the online bidding platform or email Guernsey's at auctions@guernseys.com to request a more thorough condition report.